BERNIE WHITMORE

2 CHEFS ITALIAN RESTAURANT & BAR
317 WEST BOYLSTON STREET, WORCESTER
(508) 459-9229

Rewinding back several incarnations, to the days when it was Eddie’s Pub, 317 West Boylston Street has occupied ‘special status’ for a group of my friends. Its shabby lack of pretense and decent food at fair prices made it a neighborhood favorite. Most people would have forgotten Eddie’s , but we were loyal customers.

Since then, we’ve anxiously anticipated each new restart, eagerly ready to adopt them. Rarely have we been disappointed. So it was with the 2 Chefs version release. In the endless months it took 2 Chefs to come to fruition we watched, week by week, for signs of life.

After their grand opening we waited a few weeks – enough time, we hoped, for them to find their rhythm and work out the kinks of a new kitchen. Then we decided to pay a visit to 2 Chefs. Since its Wild Willy’s days, we found the building’s dining room had been reformatted so that a perimeter of seating surrounds a central horseshoe shaped bar, and the entry area has been transformed from waiting area to family seating. Vestiges of its past show up, but the décor has decidedly slanted toward some variation of Italo-Tuscan-Cowboy with plenty of video screens and a soft-rock soundtrack.
We showed up on a midweek evening to find the parking lot packed. I expected to be turned away or face the dilemma of a 50-minute wait. Instead, we were seated immediately at one of their group-sized tables in the entrance.

2 Chef’s décor and overall theme – even the scent wafting through the parking lot – prepared me for Italian cuisine. But as I delved deeper into the menu, I was surprised to find the expected lasagna and manicotti items giving way to American standards such as lobster-stuffed haddock and steak tips with truffle fries. At the lower end of their price range they offer traditional turkey dinner and shepherd’s pie.
We started with their Caesar Salad, a big bowl of torn romaine leaves topped with shavings of parmesan cheese and homemade croutons. The dressing is what really made this Caesar stand apart; a creamy blend that clung to the romaine, its flavor notes of lemon, pepper, parmesan and Dijon mustard were blended harmoniously with a pleasingly assertive kick that foretold a kitchen unafraid of flavor.
My friend, still expecting traditional (lower) West Boylston Street prices, sniffed, ‘For the money they could at least serve it with anchovy fillets’. Initially of a similar mind, in time, I came to see their prices as fair and competitive.

At many restaurants New kitchen + Packed dining room + Covid constraints would equal Long wait for service. Thus, it was surprising when our entrées were served mere minutes from taking our first forkfuls of salad. Considering the alternatives, we felt fortunate.

Risking a cold bowl of pasta, I continued with my salad for another minute before digging into my bowl of Shrimp Fra Diavolo. To my relief, each forkful of spaghetti was steaming hot. To my surprise and pleasure it was spicy as the devil. At least one of those chefs knows their way around a sauté pan and had cooked a meal per the traditional diavolo recipe, not one tamed down to satisfy the flavor averse.
Anyone can over-spice a dish. The challenge is creating a Fra Diavolo that provides that initial shock of spice and then rounds out to reveal other flavors and, in this case, showcase the shrimp. Seven shimp, medium-to-large sized, were juicy and contributed their own delicate flavor to the dish.
What I really loved was the sumptuous garlicky after flavor. Wonderful.

My friend’s entrée, Chicken Tortellini Carbonara, was rich with smooth parmesan flavor and studded with little chunks of bacon and a scattering of peas. The creamy sauce had just a hint of garlic and generously drenched each of the tri-color tortellini and three large chunks of chicken breast.
2 Chefs portions were generous but not an outrage that sends you scrambling for takeout boxes. Nevertheless, the food was so tasty we both cleaned up our bowls and left happy. Apprehensions dispelled; 2 Chefs was worth the wait!